from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Everything in moderation. Somehow that adage seems to get lost in the media coverage of diets that claim near miraculous health results from totally eliminating X from a person's diet. Sure, there are things that you don't need even moderate amounts of, such as arsenic, lead and other toxins. But just less gluttony could go a long way.

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The general public knowledge when it comes to diet and nutrition is an absolute mess, and it's no surprise given the number of mixed messages, bad scientific studies, deceptive marketing slogans and pseudoscientific quacks out there making noise. Even in the true scientific community (once you find it underneath the sensationalist journalism), there are a lot of unanswered questions about fueling a human body. One of the most notable things about the world of nutritional science is how fast myths are adopted and how frequently the common wisdom is genuinely overturned — here are just a few recent examples:

Our fear of fats might be somewhat overblown, too. The original study that linked fat to heart disease (and many others that followed) had some serious flaws, and since a lot of fat gets replaced with carbs in the average diet, people may actually be worse off. [url]

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If you look closely enough at anything, you're bound to find more complexity and unanswered questions than you'd imagine. Especially when it comes to health recommendations, it seems like the consensus for what's "bad" for you flips every few decades. That's not exactly true, but as we learn more of the details about how substances we eat are metabolized, we have to change the simple recommendations that are broadcast to everyone. Here are just a few links on what you might want to drink (or not drink) to stay healthy.

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There is an endless stream of dieting advice out there, telling people what to eat or what not to eat -- making it sound like there are simple magic bullet solutions to losing weight and getting healthier. (The really simple solution is to eat less and exercise more, but that's usually easier said than done for most people.) There have been diets telling people to avoid all carbs or all fats, and sometimes those diets work for people, but that's just anecdotal evidence. Maybe someday we'll have more medically sound data to support/refute these trendy diet fads.

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Certain things are almost guaranteed to taste good to us -- salt, sugar and fat are just a few examples of ingredients that most people enjoy and (sometimes) can't stop themselves from eating. Eating anything in excess can be bad for you (see the "truckload of vegetables" debating technique), but people seem to especially focus on salt, sugar and fat. Here are just a few links that provide some data points on the health effects of these three tasty food items.

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

While it may be a bit late for New Year's resolutions, it's never too late to start counting calories as part of a sensible weight loss (or maintenance) plan. But before embarking on a crusade to cut out all those extra calories, it might be wise to learn more about this unit of energy. For example, scientists are still debating whether all food calories are equivalent from a metabolic perspective -- are calories from fat the same as calories from carbohydrates? The answer still isn't clear, but one thing is for sure: eat fewer calories and you'll lose weight. Here are a few more interesting tidbits about calories.

Want to learn more about calories? New York University professor Marion Nestle gave a talk in which she discusses what calories are and how they work biologically and politically. [url]

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

We know it's not good for us, but why are we so addicted to processed foods? Part of it is related to convenience, but perhaps the real reason is because processed foods taste good -- that is, if you like a lot of sugar, salt, and fat. As much as we would like to not think about it, a lot of science (and money for research, development, and marketing) goes into designing the perfect-tasting junk food that will have people coming back for more. Here are a few examples of how science is being used to trick our taste buds.